Enforcement Against Illegal Gambling in Finland
Payment-traffic blocks, criminal sanctions and the new administrative toolkit from 2027
Last verified: 2026-09-28
Finland uses payment-traffic blocks and criminal sanctions against unlicensed gambling operation and marketing today, and will gain a broader administrative sanctions toolkit — fines, licence withdrawal, content and domain removal — once the new Finnish Supervisory Agency takes over in 2027.
Enforcement Against Illegal Gambling in Finland
Overview
Playing at a gambling site outside the Veikkaus system is not itself illegal under current law, but operating or marketing unlicensed gambling in Finland is a criminal offence (rahapelirikos) under the Criminal Code, carrying a fine or up to two years' imprisonment, according to the National Police Board. Since 1 January 2023 the Board can also order payment-traffic blocks: once it issues a marketing-prohibition decision against a company, payment service providers must block transfers, card payments and direct debits to it, backed by a conditional fine on providers that do not comply. The Board estimated in a January 2023 release, reported by regional press, that Finland loses roughly EUR 250 to 300 million a year to online gambling outside Mainland Finland.
From 1 July 2027 the new Finnish Supervisory Agency gains a broader toolkit: administrative fines and penalty payments against licence holders, licence withdrawal, conditional-fine-backed bans on unlicensed operation or marketing, and the power to order removal of unlawful online content or of a domain name. The Ministry says blocking of network traffic and payment transactions more broadly was not part of the reform itself; it plans to assess the new market's functioning first, and notes that Åland's government has flagged possible problems with such blocking under the Act on the Autonomy of Åland.
Payment-traffic block mechanism, in force from 2023. [1]
Administrative sanctions available to the supervisory authority from 1 July 2027. [2]
National Police Board action against influencer marketing, September 2025. [3]
Key facts
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Players will personally set a daily and a monthly limit on the funds they may transfer into their player account with each gambling company.
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Under the current Lotteries Act only Veikkaus may market gambling in Mainland Finland; marketing by other operators aimed at Mainland Finland is prohibited, including direct marketing, and a foreign gambling licence, a foreign country-code domain, or servers located abroad do not permit marketing in Mainland Finland.
Poliisihallitus (National Police Board), Valtioneuvosto / Finlex
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Under current law playing at gambling sites outside the Veikkaus system is not prohibited: the Lotteries Act restricts the supply and marketing of gambling in Mainland Finland, and the Ministry states that the reform does not prohibit gambling outside the licensing system either.
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Unlawful operation and marketing of gambling is a criminal offence (gambling offence, rahapelirikos) under the Criminal Code, punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to two years, according to the National Police Board.
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Since the start of 2023 the National Police Board can impose payment-traffic blocks on companies that received a prohibition decision on gambling marketing contrary to the Lotteries Act; payment service providers must block payments (such as transfers, card payments and direct debits) to the companies on the Board's list, and the Board can prohibit a provider from executing gambling payments, backed by a conditional fine.
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In September 2025 the National Police Board prohibited unlawful gambling marketing by two social media influencers and ordered one influencer to pay a previously imposed conditional fine after continuing despite a prohibition; the Board described the activity as affiliate marketing by gambling companies aimed at consumers in Mainland Finland.
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From 1 July 2027 the supervisory authority can impose administrative fines (rikemaksu) and penalty payments (seuraamusmaksu) on licence holders, withdraw a licence, ban the running or marketing of gambling games with a conditional fine, and order removal of unlawful online content or of a domain name from the domain-name register; it must publish decisions on injunctions, fines, penalty payments and licence withdrawals.
Sisäministeriö (Ministry of the Interior), Valtioneuvosto / Finlex
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The Ministry states that blocking of network traffic and of payment transactions was not proposed in the reform, that the functioning of the new market will be monitored and the need for such provisions assessed after the Gambling Act enters into force, and that the Government of Åland has said such blocking may be problematic under the Act on the Autonomy of Åland.
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The supervisory authority's tools include technical monitoring of games and player-account transactions, a broad right of access to information and inspection, and annual reports from licence holders; licence holders must have their game systems and draw methods audited by a third-party assessment body, and gambling services are subject to money-laundering legislation.
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The National Police Board's Gambling Administration supervises gambling under sections 42 and 43 of the Lotteries Act, and its supervision of gambling marketing has largely concentrated on countering marketing by companies outside the exclusive-right system.
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The National Police Board's first payment-block list, published in January 2023, covered eight operators, according to a press report of the Board's release; the same release estimated that about EUR 250 to 300 million a year is lost in online games outside Mainland Finland.
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Section 75(3) of the Gambling Act extends its prohibitions on unlicensed operation and marketing to games in which crypto-assets can be used to take part or won; the Act text read does not itself state whether licensed operators may accept crypto-asset payments.
Sources
- Valtioneuvosto / FinlexPrimary source — HE 16/2025 vp: Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle uutta rahapelijärjestelmää koskevaksi lainsäädännöksi — https://data.finlex.fi/api/media/government-proposal/904588/mainPdf/main.pdf
- Sisäministeriö (Ministry of the Interior)Primary source — Questions and answers on gambling system reform — https://intermin.fi/en/projects/reform-of-the-gambling/questions-and-answers
- Valtioneuvosto (Finnish Government)Primary source — The National Police Board intervened again in the unlawful marketing of gambling by social media influencers (3 Sept 2025) — https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/25235045/the-national-police-board-intervened-again-in-the-unlawful-marketing-of-gambling-by-social-media-influencers?languageId=fi_FI